Pretend

She pulls out the eraser
and the paper,
ready to draw a whole new her.
Maybe she'll add a touch-up
there, and a little line here,
and maybe erase those zits.
She'd make her stomach a
little slimmer,
and her mouth
a little fatter.
Because of course, society needs pleasing.
She'll play pretend.

She'll hide those truths, and cover
them with lies, and
she'll try and erase the
stretch marks, from
being pulled too far.
She'll try and erase the scars,
from being pricked on the inside,
and because of all the flaws.

She'll add those layers of clothes
from the dress-up box,
so no bruises
will show.
She'll hide all the tears
behind the paper white mask,
she repaints every day.
She'll play pretend.

She'll play with fire, to try
and scorch away the pain,
by burning away the skin
that she finds a true sin.
She's too young to play these
games, too young to try and kill
herself, because of all those
nasty tongues.

She'll try and try
and never really succeed,
and she'll end up in the hall,
with no more life in her
at all.
She'll play pretend...